Railroad car handling apparatus



Oct. 29, 1968 R. w. RANTZ 3,407,750

RAILROAD CAR HANDLING APPARATUS I Filed Dec. 6, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 rI Inventor 2| Robert (H.Ran'bg/ I 5 fl ttornegfi Oct. 29, 1968 R. w.RANTZ 3,407,750

RAILROAD CAR HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 6, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HM lInvntor Robert W.Rant uwmflw M49 United States Patent 3,407,750 RAILROADCAR HANDLING APPARATUS Robert W. Rantz, Evergreen Park, Ill., assignorto Abex Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 6, 1965, Ser.No. 511,781 3 Claims. (Cl. 104-162) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Impellingapparatus is alforded for engaging the wheel of a railroad car to impelthe car along a traffic rail. The impelling apparatus comprises a slidereciprocal parallel to the traffic rail and supporting a plurality ofpivotally mounted one-way dogs normally biased by a spring or the liketo an effective upright wheel engaging position, and each dog is adaptedto be moved to an ineffective or depressed position by a car wheeltraveling thereover.

This invention relates to railroad car handling apparatus and moreparticularly to apparatus having the cap ability of impelling a railroadcar along a track.

The present invention is of particular utility in railroadclassification yards where railroad car retarders are placed along thetracks to reduce the velocity of a car or cut moving through the yard toa predetermined velocity. In one conventional type of classificationyard, the car retarders are selectively operable to retard the cars to atemporary but complete standstill. After a railroad car is brought to astandstill, the retarder is opened to release the railroad car forfurther movement downstream under the influence of gravity. However, itoccasionally happens that after the retarder is opened, the railroad carhaving particularly poor rolling characteristics, will not start rollingagain and leave the retarder.

Classification yards are typically automatic in operation and cars arecontinually being routed through the various retarders. Hence, thefailure of a railroad car to move from a retarder to its ultimatedestination incapacitates that retarder and necessitates the employmentof special measures to move the railroad car from the re tarder and tostart the car rolling onward on its path to its ultimate destination.The car retarders are relatively long in that they usually have at leastone 39 foot braking section. When a car is brought to a standstill, itwill have a car wheel, front or rear, disposed somewhere in theupstream, intermediate or downstream portion of the car retarder. Thus,a railroad car impeller should have the capability of impelling the carfrom the retarder whatever may be the position of the railroad carwithin the elongated retarder.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to brake railroad cars to astandstill by a retarder and to exert sufficient force on a railroad carto cause it to roll from the retarder after the car is released by theretarder.

Another object of the present invention is to impel railroad cars, whichare at a standstill in a car retarder, from the car retarder.

Although the classification yards are generally automatic in operationfor the routing and controlling the velocity of cars as they move totheir destinations, service, maintenance and other personnel move aboutthe equipment in the classification yards. Accordingly, another objectof the invention is to alford a railroad car impelling apparatus whichminimizes the safety hazards to persons in the classification yard.

It will be appreciated that the car moving apparatus must generateconsiderable force to move railroad cars having heavy loads therein. Thecar moving apparatus is also exposed to such extreme environmentalconditions ice such as water, ice, and snow. Also, because a car movingapparatus will be employed with each of a plurality of group retardersin a classification yard, the car moving apparatus should be economicalto manufacture and economical to install in the field with existingretarders. Accordingly, a further object of the invention is a ruggedand simple car moving apparatus which is economical to manufacture andto install in the field.

Although the car impelling apparatus is of particular importance inconjunction with railroad car retarders, it can be employed separatelyfrom the retarder and in other environments. Accordingly, a furtherobject of the invention is a railroad car impelling apparatus forengaging the wheels of a railroad car and impelling the railroad caralong a track.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by Way of illustration, shows preferredembodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and whatis now considered to be the best mode contemplated for applying theseprinciples. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same orequivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made asdesired by those skilled in the .art without departing from the presentinvention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a car moving device constructed in accordancewith the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 in the direction ofthe arrows showing a dog for engaging a railroad car wheel;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1 in thedirection of the arrows and showing rails secured adjacent one another;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a. slide means and hydrauliccylinders for moving the slide means; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a one-way dog engaging a car wheel.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4,there is illustrated a car moving apparatus 10 for engaging and exertinga force on a railroad car wheel of a railroad car (not shown) on a firsttrafiic rail T1. A car retarder 12 is disposed opposite the car movingapparatus 10 and has retarding rails or beams 14 for engagement with acar wheel riding on an opposite trafiic rail T2. The car retarder 14 istypical of a plurality of group or intermediate retarders in aclassification yard each of which is on a slope or grade and each ofwhich controls the velocity of a cut moving over its respective trafiicrails. The cars move from right to left, as viewed in FIG. 1, towards adownstream destination and on to a particular classification track ascontrolled by downstream track switches.

In a conventional classification yard, railroad cars are moved over ahump (not shown) and are released to move down a grade and through theretarder 12 where retarding beams 14 engage the car wheels riding overthe rail T2 to exert a retarding force on the car wheels to slow the cardown to a predetermined velocity. The predetermined velocity may be avery slow velocity of several mph; in some instances the predeterminedvelocity is zero. In this latter case, the cars are brought to acomplete standstill within the car retarder 12.

Where the railroad car is brought to a complete standstill, theretarding brake beams 14 are selectively operated as by the hydrauliccylinders 16, FIG. 1, which pivot levers 18 about supporting posts 20spanning adjacent ties 21 to move the brake beams 14 apart to releasetheir grip on the car wheels. Conversely, after a car leaves theretarder, the levers 18 pivot to return the brake beams 14 close to oneanother to brake the next incoming railroad car. The illustrated carretarder 12 is the subject matter of US. copending application Ser. No.346,168, filed Feb. 20, 1964.

The car retarder 12 is merely illustrative of one of a number ofcommercially available railroad car retarders, which may be employedwith the car moving apparatus 10. In its broadest aspects, the presentinvention is not to be construed as limited to use only in conjunctionwith a car retarder since the car impelling apparatus may have utilityin other situations where it is desired to impel a railroad car.

A typical car retarder will have at least one retarder unit which is 39feet in length and theoretically the wheels of the railroad car may bebrought to rest anywhere within the 39 feet of length. The presentlydescribed car moving apparatus is particularly adapted to impart a forceto the railroad car to start the car rolling from the retarder 12irrespective of the position of the car wheels. For this purpose, thecar moving apparatus 10 includes a series of pivotally mounted dogs 25,FIG. 4, held in a slide means 26 which slides between the traflic railT1 and a parallel retaining rail 30. The slide means 26 is movedleftwardly, FIG. 4, to bring one of the dogsinto engagement with a carwheel W, FIG. 5, and moved rightwardly to return the dogs 25 to theirinitial starting position. The slide means 26 is moved by a pair ofopposed actuating means in the form of fluid-operated cylinders and 34,FIG. 4, secured to the upstream (right) and downstream (left) ends,respectively, of the slide means 26.

The trafiic rail T1 and retaining rail 30 constitute a guiding means forguiding between their respective rail webs 36 and 37, and a pair ofopposed elongated bars 39 and 40, FIG. 2, of the slide means 26. Theelongated bars 39 and 40 are rectangular in cross section and have theirouter ends 39A and 40A, respectively, curved to fit the generalcurvature between the head, flange and web of the respective rails 30and T1.

As can best be understood from FIG. 3, the retainer rail 30 is securedand held in spaced parallel relationship to the trafiic rail T1 by asecurity brace 41 extending over the base flange of the rail 30. Thesecurity brace 41 is secured to a base plate 42 extending beneath therespective rails T1 and 30. Each of the base plates 42 is secured bydrive spikes 43 to one of the ties 21. To preserve the spacing betweenthe rails T1 and 30 and thereby provide an accurate alignment for theguiding means, a small block 45, FIG. 3, is disposed between the inwardflanges of the respective rails T1 and 30. The traffic rail T1 is alsoheld by suitable securing clips 44 secured by suitable bolts and nuts 46to the base plates 42. Preferably, the retaining rail 30 is a piece ofrailroad rail, which is readily available at relatively low cost.

The slide means 26 has a series of spaced blocks 50, FIG. 4, fastened tothe respective slide bars 39 and 40 at spaced intervals. The blocks 50assure that bars 39 and 40 remain parallel and stay within the slidewaygroove formed between the rail webs 36 and 37 of the respective rails T1and 30. The blocks 50 are spaced such that open spaces 51 are formedbetween the respective slide blocks 50 and between the respective bars39 and 40 into which the dogs 25 may pivot. Each of the dogs 25 pivotsbelow the surface 54 at the top of the trafiic rail T1 while a car wheelW is rolling thereover and through the car moving apparatus 10.

It will be appreciated that the car moving apparatus 10 is seldomactuated inasmuch as the great majority of cars will start rolling fromthe retarder 12 and down the grade on which the retarder 12 is placedwithout receiving any push from a dog 25. It is contemplated that onlywhen a railroad car fails to move from the retarder under the influenceof gravity that it will be necessary to operate cylinders 34 and 35 tocause the slide means 26 to :bring a dog 25 against a car wheel W toexert sufficient force to initiate the rolling of the car wheels.

The dogs 25 are one-way dogs in that they are elfective when movedleftwardly (FIG. 4) with the slide means 26 to impart a driving force tothe car wheels and they are ineffective in that they pivot downwardly aswheels roll thereover when the slide means 26 is at rest. Morespecifically, the wheels W of a car moving along the traflic rail T1engage the inclined surfaces 60 on the upper edges of the dogs 25 andforce the dogs 25 to rotate downwardly and in a counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5, into the spaces 51 and abouttheir pivot pins 61 against the urging of biasing springs 62.

However, when the slide means 26 is moved leftwardly, as viewed in FIGS.4 and 5, that dog 25, which is nearest to one of the car wheels W, hasits ball bearing 65 engaged with the car wheel W and continued movementof the slide means 26 imparts suflicient force to the wheel W to causethe wheel W to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, as shown inFIG. 5. The dog 25 is prevented from rotating clockwise, as viewed inFIG. 5, because its rearward surface 66 is in engagement with a verticalface 67 of the stationary block 50. Since the blocks 50 are rigidlysecured to the respective opposed bars 39 and 40, the dogs 25 areprevented from clockwise rotation while exerting a force on a car wheel.The block 50 also serves to retain the dog 25 in its generally uprightposition, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, by limiting the clockwise pivotalmovement of the dogs 25 under the influence of the contractile springs62, which have their forward ends 68 inserted in a spring anchor 69secured to the lower end of the dog 25. The opposite end of the spring62 is hooked to a downstream block 50 by a similar spring anchor 70,FIG. 4.

It is preferred that the slide means 26 be connected to the respectivecylinders 34 and 35, FIG. 4, by a clevis arrangement. Each clevisarrangement includes a'clevis block 72 or 73 pivotally secured to theslide bars 39 and 40 by a respective pivot rod 74 and 75. The rods 74and 75 each are disposed through aligned apertures in their respectivebars 39 and 40 and through an aperture in its respective clevis block 72and 73. The clevis blocks 72 and 73 are secured respectively to a pistonrod 78 and 79, which are driven by the respective pistons (not shown)within the respective hydraulic cylinders 34 and 35.

The hydraulic cylinders 34 and 35 are nested between the rails T1 and 30and below the top surface of the rails T1 and 30. For thi purpose, thehydraulic cylinders 34 and 35 have apertured bosses 80 and 81,respectively, receiving a pin 82 and 83 respectively, the pins 82 and 83extending into suitable apertures 84 in the respective rails T1 and 30.Suitable fittings 85 are on the underside of the hydraulic cylinders 34and 35 for connection to the hydraulic lines for directing fluid againstthe pistons of the respective hydraulic cylinders 34 and 35 to move thepiston rods 78 and 79 to actuate the slide means 26. Thus, the forceapplied to a wheel by the roller bearing 65 of a dog 25 is approximatelyalong the centerline of the wheel W. The ball bearing 65 is disposedwithin a suitable cavity 92 in an inclined face 93 with the dog 25. Aretainer plate 94 is welded or otherwise secured to the inclined face 93of the dog to hold captive the ball bearing 65 in the cavity 92. Thebearing 65 on the dog 25 is disposed in the inclined face 93 to permitits exerting a positioning force on the wheel W, FIG. 5, without bindingthereagainst.

The stroke of the respective piston rods 78 and 79 is such that the dogs25 are reciprocated-through a distance sufiicient to engage and cause acar wheel to move irrespective of its position between any two dogs 25.If greater spacing between dogs 25 is desired, then the stroke of thepiston rods 78 and 79 is increased to assure engagement of a dog 25 witha car wheel. I

It will be realized that the use of readily available rail stock for therails T1 and 30 affords along and inex pensive guiding means for theslide means 26. Application of a liberal amount of lubricant such as agrease along the engaged web surfaces of the respective rails T1 and 30and the rounding of the corners 39A and 40A of the respective bars 39and 40, facilitates the sliding of the bars 39 and 40 within theguideway for-med between the rails T1 and 30. The blocks 50, dogs 25 andspring 62 form a simple and inexpensive means of affording a one-wayoperating drive means for impelling the car wheel to rotate irrespectiveof the position at which the car wheel is disposed within the retarder.Thus, the car moving apparatus 10 is formed of simple and inexpensiveelements which are readily available and economically installed in thefield.

Also, the slide means 26 is shielded within the two rails T1 and 30 fromcontacting persons in the classification yard when the hydrauliccylinders 34 and 35 are actuated thereby minimizing hazards to safety,safety being an important consideration in these types of operatingequipment. The hydraulic cylinders 34 and 35 are preferably remotelycontrolled as from an observation tower; but, if desired the hydrauliccylnders 34 and 35 could be operated locally at the retarderinstallation.

Hence, while preferred embodiments of the invention have been describedand illustrated, it is to be understood that they are capable ofvariation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited tothe precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchchanges and alterations as fall within the purview of the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A railroad car impelling apparatus for impelling a railroad car alongtrafiic rails comprising: an elongated retaining rail secured adjacentto and in parallel relation ship to a trafiic rail to form an enclosedguide-way between the webs of the respective retaining and trafficrails; slide means slideable in said guide-Way and including a pair ofelongated bars disposed for sliding engagement against the respectivewebs of the retaining and trafiio rails, a plurality of spaced dogspivotally mounted on said slide means and movable by said slide meansfor engagement with a car wheel, biasing means urging said dogs to aneffective wheel engaging position, said biasing means yielding to permitsaid car wheels to pivot said dogs to an ineffective position, means onsaid slide means limiting pivotal movement of said dogs when said dogsare in engagement with a car wheel, and fluid cylinder means connectedto said slide means to reciprocate said slide means in said guide-way tomove said dogs for engagement with a car wheel.

2. The car impelling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said dogs have aroller means movable into engagement with said wheel to prevent bindingengagement between said wheel and a dog.

3. The car impelling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means on saidslide means limiting pivotal movement of said dogs are blocks disposedbetween said elongated bars and wherein said fluid cylinder means isdisposed between said traffic rail and said elongated retaining rail.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,779,441 1/1957 Beltman et a1.18862 2,948,235 8/1960 Stamler et a1. l04162 2,961,973 11/1960 Bozman104-162 3,227,246 1/ 1966 Wilson 188-62 3,306,233 2/1967 Saxonmeyerl04-249 2,606,504 8/1952 Stamler l04162 FOREIGN PATENTS 860,259 2/1961Great Britain.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

D. F. WORTH, Assistant Examiner.

